KPMG

Role: Java Backend Developer

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: September 2024

Interview Type: Not Specified (Implied Off-Campus)

Result: Rejected (Implied, no response from HR)

Difficulty: Not Specified (Coding questions were described as Easy)

Rounds: 4 rounds

Topics Asked: Core Java, SQL, Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA), Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), Marker Interface, Functional Interface, Immutable Classes, Joins, Spring Boot/Microservices (mentioned as technologies used), Behavioral, Critical Thinking

Experience:

This candidate interviewed for a Java Backend Developer role at KPMG India in September 2024. The job description initially mentioned core Java and SQL, but during the interview, Spring Boot/Microservices were also discussed, which the candidate felt contributed to their non-selection.

Round 1: Online Assessment - This round had three questions. Two were mandatory, and the third was optional with some weightage for subsequent rounds.

• Q1: Interface implementation – given a 'Building' interface, implement 'School' and 'Hospital' classes. (Easy)
• Q2: SQL question – Aggregation and grouping by. (Easy)
• Q3 (Optional): Similar to Q1 but involved a few edge cases.

Round 2: L1 Interview (1 hour 10 minutes) - Scheduled two days after the online assessment, conducted over Microsoft Teams.

• Discussion of prior experience.
• Java Stream question to find the 3rd highest number in a list of integers.
• DSA: Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock.
• DSA: Two Sum problem.
• What are marker interfaces?
• What is a functional interface?

Round 3: L3 Interview (35 minutes) - Scheduled 2-3 days after the L1 interview.

• Discussion of previous projects.
• Given a list of names (first last with space separated), count the occurrence of each last name using Java Stream.
• Immutable classes.
• What are left outer joins?
• Differences between primary key and unique key.
• Spring bean lifecycle.
• Code snippets were provided, and the candidate was asked if they would run:
  1. Parent obj = new Child(); Can obj be now called with a method of the child class?
  2. A parent method throws IOException, but while overriding it in the child, it throws Exception. Will it work?

Round 4: Director Level Interview (30 minutes) - Scheduled 3-4 days after the L3 interview.

• Generic HR type questions.
• Prior experience, why you left previous role, why you want to join KPMG.
• A critical thinking question.

The candidate did not receive feedback from HR after this round, implying rejection.